Braves interest pleases Furcal

wouldnt it be ironic if it was the dodgers again

Getting Furcal back would be fantastic but not for $31 million for 3 years. We need his speed for sure but this team needs to get young real fast. A contract offer for Furcal is only appealing if the Peavy talks can stir up again. Otherwise what other pitchers are out there to trade Escobar for? Vasquez? Cain? Liriano? I just don't see a pitcher out there that is worth Escobar and prospects like Jake Peavy.

Escobar would great to keep around, an all-star in the making, but if you can obtain a #1 starter (from the Mets and Phillies) like Peavy, then they would do it.

I don't agree with "lumbajack", they shouldn't trade Escobar for Vasquez, Cain, or Liriano. All are inconsistent, though Liriano, is the least - the Twins list him as their Santana and "untouchable".

I agree I'm not sure if going with a injury-laden Furcal is the answer, he is by-far the best of those available. And you know the Braves are trying their best to get the "hometown discount" (because they can).

I think it's still possible for the Braves to obtain Peavy, and if that happens, we're going to need **** with some speed, which Escobar doesn't have. By getting rid of Kelly Johnson and Escobar, the Braves are identifying that they need to get faster. SS and 2B are typically the positions that the fastest players play, yet Johnson and Escobar are some of the slowest on the team. They are valuable trade pieces and I think if we're going to change our team, I agree with moving towards a pitching-oriented team, and if that means moving the slower pieces, then hopefully those arms will be worth the investment.

Also, people please understand why so many teams want Peavy. He's an arm comparable to Sabathia - NOT at Sabathia's price. Peavy has 4 years left on his contract and he wouldn't get nearly as much as Sabathia's proposed $23M/year that NYY is rumored to offer Sabathia.

Nola10, first of all, Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar are definitely not some of the slowest players on the team. If anything, they are some of the fastest. You're telling me that Esco and Johnson are slower than McCann, Chipper, Kotchman, etc?

You make a good point though regarding the Braves having still a chance to obtain Peavy. This could very well happen. The Padres are itching to get rid of him (owner going through nasty divorce), so he will be dealt. And frankly, no other teams are even close to offering a package that they could have gotten from Atlanta. Plus, Peavy has already expressed interest in remaining in the NL... and has mentioned the Cubs, Braves, Astros, and a few more that he would like to play for.

Bottom line, I believe in Wren can go out there and sign a Lowe, Dempster, Burnett, or a Penny... Peavy and his GM will be knocking at Wren's door.

And Esco will be gone...and Furcal will be back.

nola im pretty sure kelly johnson is one of the three fastest players on the team with blanco and jurjjens and escobar isn't anywhere near what i would call slow. they are both only 26 years old and im not sure if you have noticed but the braves have absolutely no middle infield depth (the reason johnson was converted to second in the first place) we need to hang on to the both of them. i agree that we need pitching from outside the system because other than hanson and maybe locke or rorbourough* i dont see any major league pitchers coming out for the next 5 years. with blanco anderson bjones francouer heyward schafer and g hernandez i'd guess we're pretty stacked in the outfield and we should unload that talent for pitching

i dont think furcal is the type of guy the braves need. im hoping the peavy deal gets done and we pick up a shortstop for cheap. do u realize we still need more starting pitching and a solid outfielder? getting furcal and his 30-40million dollar salary aint gonna do much more for us than what escobar did for us last season or make us a contender.

Man this whole deal has me all screwed up, Peavy is a dominant pitcher for a low price, but escobar is the major league ready baller we hoped he would be. I would also feel better about it if the Padres didn't want so much, what's next, they want us to send cash considerations too. I say it's escobar, hernandez (only because it's a power bat we need), and morton or reyes, no more. Like someone said earlier, what are the padres gonna get from the Cubs? Pie, marshall, and cedeno, c'mon now. San Diego is the team re-organizing their plans, beggers can't be choosers. I would feel a whole hell of a lot better declining the deal if I was sure how these farm guys (hanson, locke, and even morton), were gonna turn out. If this deal goes through, we are immediate contenders and need Furcal or someone like him, I'm tired of having no speed in our lineup. We need to hit up Otix Nixon and Deion to see what their doing these days.

Bottom line......the Braves need pitching. Look back during the 90's when Maddux, Smoltzie, and Glavine were in the rotation, the Braves surely proved that pitching wins championships (at least divisional championships for the most part anyways). I could see trading Johnson but Escobar is very valuable to the team because of his ability to get to the ball and his strong arm throwing across the field. The possibility of getting Furcal again would be nice, but he's aged and his arm has weakened over the last three years or so. However, I don't see the Braves landing a quality starting pitcher without offering Escobar especially if talks arise again with Peavey. Don't get me wrong about Furcal, I hated to see him leave the Braves because he was such a devoted player and played until he absolutely couldn't play anymore. My point is, get at least three quality starters back in the rotation and the Braves will be back in the tradition of winning. Also, we need another bat to go behind Chipper in the lineup.

trading for peavy is a good thing without putting escobar in the trade. put escobar at 2nd and place furcal at ss.

Tradechipper, first off, your name makes me want to vomit.

Also, there's no way in hades that we're getting Peavy without trading Escobar. End of story.

pvc5kac@yahoo.com, you said it best regarding Peavy and the Padres, "Beggars can't be choosers." They are seriously annoying me. I hope they get nothing from no one and come back begging Wren to complete a deal.

The Braves (believe it or not) are a team ready to compete for a championship again, if they can just stay healthy. Pitching, in my opinion is not a great concern as much as hitting is this offseason.

They need a #1 pitcher and that's it! Look at the last 5 World Series champs. They all had #1's compliment pitchers behind them with powerful offenses. The heydays of the 90's are over. Pitching doesn't win championships anymore. Hitting does. I reluctanly say this because I intensely believe pitching GETS you to the play-offs, but offense wins you championships (although my belief for the longest time was pitchings wins you championships).

If the Braves have $45 million to spend this offseason they need to address two issues: a #1 pitcher (not a guy who pitched great LAST year and might tail-off) and two power hitters. Sabathia should be the #1 target, if not him, Ben Sheets. Yes, Sheets has an injury history that is going to scare away a lot of teams, but its worth the risk for the Braves. The Braves have a lot of talented arms in the minors (Parr, Morton, Hanson, etc.) and if Sheets does go down one of these guys could fill his role. Sabathia's gonna cost about $24 million/season for at least 5 years. Sheets could be a steal at $12 million/season for 3 or 4 years and give the Braves wiggle room to address other areas (bullpen needs a lot of help) and bring back Smoltz, Glavine, and Hampton to help fill out the bullpen and rotation on cheap contracts (with incentives tied to them), you know they'll play for the league minimum if they can get incentives at their ages and with Hampton's injury history.

For hitting, I want the Braves to make another run at Teixeira if they don't get Sabathia. They could give him $18 million/year for 4 or 5 years. If Teixeira isn't an option or they feel he's too expensive, sign Dunn. The guy can flat out RAKE! Yes, he strikes out a lot, but Pendleton could help him out a little with his flaws and the guy gets on base 34% of the time. And Dunn can play LF and 1B to give the Braves some options everyday to give different guys at-bats. A three-headed monster at 1B with Norton, Dunn, and Kotchman would be outstanding with Dunn and Blanco switching out in LF. We could probably get Dunn for $12 million/year for 3 or 4 years. And as another complimentary power hitter the Braves need to get is Gabe Kapler. The guy isn't as old as people may think. He hits for power and average and he could be available cheap (probably $3 - $4 million a year for two or three years). Kapler is basically everything the Braves are hoping Frenchy will become. Kapler would be a great mentor for Francoeur and help him get his swing back on track and confidence up.

Centerfield could be filled internally with SPEED by using Anderson and Blanco there. Those guys are the team's best shot at stealing bases. The rest of the infield should remain intact if we can't swing a deal to get Peavy. Infante and Prado are great back-ups to have, although I'd probably prefer Infante ahead of Escobar.

Frenchy is another guy who needs to get paid. This is a GREAT time for the Braves to offer him the same contract they offered him last year. 7 years at $42 million (or now 6 years at $36 million) to show that the team still believes in him and wants him to commit to playing in Atlanta for a long time. If he doesn't sign, shop him around while his value increases during the season (Heywood or Shaffer can fill his role in a year at most). Francoeur could end up being another Ben Grieve or Hal McCrae if he's not careful.

So this would be ideal:

Sabathia (18 mil first year), Dunn (10 mil first year), Francoeur (3.5 mil first year), with room to fill in the rest of the roster with Braves free-agents (Ohman, Norton, Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton, etc.)

or

Sheets (10 mil first year), Teixeira (14 mil first year), Dunn (10 mil first year), Francoeur (3.5 mil first year), with room to fill in the rest of the roster with Braves free-agents (Ohman, Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton, etc.)

First of all the braves need starting pitching and if it takes trading escobar to get Peavy or another starting pitcher we should take the offer. I believe if we do this it is a great idea to sign furcal back. He is an outstanding player with speed and he has done great things for the braves in the past. One person in here said it would be the same as having escobar but I see that as wrong. Furcal has all the tools the braves need and the only reason we wold get him is if we traded for a pitcher like peavy witch would all lead to m ore wins

Escobar is one of the faster players on the team, when he RUNS! Even Ricky Henderson couldn't beat out a ground ball if he walked to first! Trade Escobar, the bat boy has a better chance of beating out a ground ball than Escobar.

I think all this peavy trade fiasco is coming to an end pretty soon ...they going to contact the braves again and this trade will be a done deal...now i think yunel escobar is a high price due to his awesome talent, his youth and the fact that theres is not much of SS talent either in the free agency or trade market.....but we have to give some to get some....the only bad thing aboutout all this is that is very unlikely that Furcal is coming back cause he got some outrageous offers on th table and the Braves are not simply going to get in a bidding war for him...we need pitching and right now we are running out of options...because the Jays has prepared an offer worth on 4 years for 54 millions and the Yankees are willing to outbid that and we have to accept the fact that the Braves dont like to spend that kind of money...although they need to....i havent seen any offer from the braves to anyone yet wich makes me think they are waiting to see how they going to attack...and im pretty sure their minds still on Peavy ...they better be agressive in the market they have the money is time to expend it ...the yankees are annoying in this time of the year the Braves have to do something about it.

I disagree with the idea of targeting Sabathia or Sheets. C.C. Sabathia is waaaaaay to expensive and, with his history of injuries, Sheets is entirely too risky. The Mike Hampton disaster is way too fresh to take that kind of a chance. Sure, Mikey came back strong and it wouldn't be all bad to see the Braves re-sign him at a 1 year low-rate deal (keep in mind this is based on what we as fans saw/know which is limited at best, the noes who know the whole situation are Frank Wren and others there every day). I'm with so many others about the Peavy talks resurrecting. Sure, Kevin Towers is being pretty greedy, but the talks stop or restart at Peavy and he's supposedly doubting the Braves' chances of contending (which means he's at least unconsciously doubting himself and what he could provide). Call him short-sighted call him insecure...either would probably work just fine. If talks do resurrect, I'm not so sure we'll lose Yunel Escobar. Reason being, while it's true that beggars can't be choosers, Kevin Towers is basically passing up a plum deal and will likely wind up desperate enough to settle for what he can get for Jake Peavy and curse his own failure to take a good deal when he could get it.

the braves will get peavy and lose escobar
the braves will then attract other major pitchers including burnett, lowe, and dempster
acquiring peavy would also attract any other free agent
furcal has said hed love to play in Atlanta again so they can easily sign him for less then anyone else out there.
texiera would also be nice to have back considering hes a monster especially in the second half of the year
once they get that peavy deal theylll then be able to sign lowe AND burnett
as somebody said sheets would be an amazing sleeper that is somewhat legit
hampton, smoltz, and glavine will all be back next year in a braves uniform
the braves are automatic contenders with Peavy alone
also look for edgar renteria as an option he did really well during his atlanta days so look out
trading johnson would be huge, he was just getting hot at the end of last year and is great bait for those higher caliber players
Frenchy just had an off year, hes going to have another monster year next year and carry the braves to the playoffs
if the braves can somehow land texiera again look for kotchman to get dumped hell then be good trading material also
the braves will have many new guys in uniform next year and watch them win the world series!
TRADING CHIPPER WOULD BE THE DUMBEST THING EVER
whoever said that just go die now

I agree on everyting you said till you mentioned Texeira...When everybody going to accept that Tex never going to be a Brave again ....His stupid Agent is the devil..there is no way on getting Tex so forget it....and is true that Peavy would attract other elite free agents but the braves have to be agressive VERY agressive on the market....About Kotchman ...just give him the chace to prove himself he is heating up believe me he is only 25 or 26 years old he is really young and he have all star potential, he hits for average and is a GAP killer ...he is going to drive a lot of runs in the middle of the lineup...he had a rough time when he got traded to Atlanta given the situation he pass from the best team on the league in that moment to a team that had no chance to make the playoffs...so this year wiht a fresh start and new faces around, new attitude he ll be a keeper ...why you think the Angels didnt want to get rid of him ....Braves have a really good chace to be a contender they just have to play the right cards and im confident they will

Bravesguy, let me get this straight...in your scenario, the Braves will land Peavy via trade, sign Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, Mike Hampton, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Mark Texeria and **** (either Furcal or Renteria).

Let me count the ways this cannot happen. The first is budget. The Braves have $40 million to spend. What you have suggested what cost a minimum of $70 million, and that does not account for the added salary of Peavy. In addition, if the Braves added the pitchers you suggest, they have a rotation of what? Peavy, Burnett, Lowe, Jurijens and Smoltz? Where do all these other pitchers fit into the mix.

While this would certainly improve the team, it is so far out of the realm of possibility that it is not even worth thinking about.

Ok people... please allow me to say a few things. And if you disagree, I'd like to see a substantial counter argument.

Forget Sabathia. Wren is not interested. The Padres has already wasted valuable time while trying to acquire Peavy... so what makes you think he's going to waste even more time trying to out-bid the Yankees. Have you seen Cashman's offer? Ridiculous.

It would surprise me if Blanco even makes the club. If he does make it (which he probably will since he played a full season last year), he will hardly earn a starting position. The Braves are going to allow Anderson and Schafer compete for that job. The Braves are really interested in seeing how Schafer does. He's having a very successful season in Winter ball. Plus, Wren has already stated his favor for Schafer because of his (Schafer) willingness to go in and out of his way to re-earn the club's approval by playing winter ball, unlike that idiot Brent Lilibridge. I'm assuming Gorkys Hernandez will either season more in the minors or be dealt, along with Escobar for Peavy (if that does indeed happen.)

As for Peavy, I, too, believe this possibility should not be discarded. Clearly, no other club is offering the Padres a viable package. The Yankees may can offer more money, but the Padres are looking to re-build with young prospects. Simply enough, a combination of Gorkys/or Schafer, Escobar, Morton, and Boyer simply makes all other offers appear unsatisfactory. Mark my words, "Peavy will be in Atlanta next year."

So, this brings us to who will play SS? First of all, whoever said they prefered Infante over Escobar is a crazy. If you can remember Infante's games at SS last year when he had to fill in for an injured Escobar, he bobbled more balls than a juggling clown. Infante is merely a very clutch utility player. His defensive skills will keep him from earning a starting position. So, Furcal does sound appealing. But, like someone said, his price is steep, although he may allow a hometown discount. However, Renteria is always an option...and Renteria would kill to get out of the AL.

I love the idea of trading Johnson in a combination with someone else to get a power hitter, although I think the club would do well in offering Jermaine Dye a contract. He hit 34 HRs last year.

Thoughts anyone?

ciafolla, your comment is hilarious. You make awesome points.

However, I do want to say that if Peavy, Burnett, Lowe, Jurrgens, and Smoltz were our rotation next year, I could care less about the rest of them. That rotation alone would win the division. However, like you, I believe this will not happen.

If we acquire Peavy, I think the rotation will look more like: Peavy, Lowe, Jurrgens, Hampton, and Hanson. I wish they would get Burnett, but the Yankees will offer him too much to pass over. Also, don't be surprised to see the Braves go after a much cheaper option in Brad Penny.

Glavine needs to retire before he embarrasses himself even more. The dude is through. While he was untouchable in his prime, he is no Smoltz. Let me be bold and say, when Smoltz is healthy (even NOW), he is the most dominant pitcher in the bigs. Period. Before he got hurt this past season, he was ridiculous.

I as a Padres fan see Peavy going to the Braves. The Cubs are about to sign Demp, they say they still want Peavy. I just don't see how they can put an offer together better then the Braves.

The Yankees I think could but thats a long shot with Peavy not wanting to go to the AL. I think Peavy is worth more then the Braves offer but some Braves fans think its to much. I guess a good trade is when both sides think there offering to much.

Also by reading this article it def sounds like the Braves have interest in Furcal. Checking out his value on the Market and waiting to make an offer after they trade Escobar.

I'm the guy who said he preferred Infante to Escobar and it's for two reasons:

1. Infante's a team player. He play out of position most of the year (3rd, LF, CF) and hardly had a chance to play the position he prefers and did it all without complaining. He missed most of Spring Training with an injury and from the 96 games I saw him play in, he played well in the field and was a GREAT bat to have in the line-up. I was a big Escobar fan after last year, but I'm beginning to think he's a little too immature to play for the Braves. Clubhouse chemistry has been a key ingredient to the Braves' success.

2. Escobar is not a great fielder or hitter. Escobar had 16 errors last year in 126 games. Those are just his defensive errors. He also had a few bonehead mistakes on the base paths, one injured (picked-off by Sabathia) his shoulder, and he was thrown out 5 out of the 7 times he tried to steal. His production severely dropped off when his buddy Bryan Pena was let go.

If there's any reason to attribute Escobar's success in 2007 its because of the mentorship Rentaria gave Escobar. Without a positive hispanic role model, Escobar will never has success with the Braves, again he's a very immature player. The history is there. He's had authority problems all throughout the Braves minor league system.

The guy had some success, let's cash in on it and send him packing for someone who's going to be a positive influence on the team.

The Sabathia signing I suggested is a little bit of image and a little bit of talent related.

First, Sabathia is a lefty. The NL East is loaded with great left handed hitting (Howard, Utley, Delgado, Chipper's good side, Rollin's good side, Reyes' good side, Beltran's good side, McCann) and having Sabathia would mean not having to rely on your left-handed specialist in the bullpen as often. Second, the Braves are a very "white" team, in a very diverse city. Sabathia's signing could bring an interest to the inner city African American community in Atlanta. Give some young black kids a positive role model to look up to and promote all the positive things the Braves do for the black community. The Braves aren't as marketable to their own community if they don't have someone who could be an icon for a community that more than 30% black. Remember Ron Gant, Terry Pendleton, Lonnie Smith, and even David Justice? Those guys all hold a special place in Atlanta's heart and were positive black representatives. Third, Sabathia can hit and WANTS to hit (stay in the NL). He's got the ability to swing the bat possibly be a pinch-hitter in rare situations. If Cox let Reyes do it last year, you'd think he might let Sabathia hit a little too. A good pinch hitter off the bench is worth 2 - 3 million a year AT least (unless you find a gem off waivers like Norton).

So you have to remember, even though the price tag might be a little high, in terms of what you'd get out of a player of Sabathia's nature, he may be worth it. Sabathia signing in the Atlanta market could also open up the opportunity to sign with other major sponsors (Coke, Delta, Home Depot, and UPS), which is where the big money is made. Sabathia would be a far fetched signing (depending on management's views), but it should be worth considering.

I agree with what rlukegoddard is saying...trade escobar for peavy and then trade kelly johnson for jermaine dye...dye is old but he can still flat out hit and would pose as a threat behind chipper...then i think we should bring back renteria or furcal...would prefer furcal i loved watching him when he was a braves...when he is on he can give your team the spark that jose reyes gives the mets. I read somewhere that the braves are trying to sign a back up for mccann...doesnt make sense to me, i know tyler flowers is young but the kid is ready he is flat out hitting the crap out of the ball in the fall league and that league is loaded with top prospects...they need to make the offseason moves that i suggested and place shafer in centerfield and give some other prospects a shot (parr, hanson, etc.)...let me all know what you think

Let's clarify a couple of things.

1. Players the Braves WON'T be getting: C.C. Sabathia/Mark Teixeira/Ryan Dempster (as of today). The Braves are NOT making runs at these biggest of big free agents because they just don't make sense in the Braves model anymore. If we were still in the ownership of Ted Turner, depending on its evolution into the 21st Century, maybe we'd have made a run, but that's not what current ownership does.

2. Rafael Furcal. My understanding is that the Braves will ONLY make a run at him if the Peavy deal occurs in time. The thought process is that Peavy's worried about the Braves ability to compete in the East and even more concerned if the Braves deal Escobar. Thus, the Braves interest seems to be attached to their interest in showing Peavy that he won't have to worry about shortstop. Furcal's back is a reason for concern, but isn't it amazing how nearly every player out there has a "reason for concern," so at some point Wrent will have to take a shot.

3. The way I've read it the Braves are also less than impressed with any of the free agent outfielders avaiable. Burrell and Dunn mainly because they're not really outfielders in that they both lack any range, neither has a good arm, and both are probably better suited to situations where they can either play firstbase or dh. For the Braves that means benching/dealing Kotchman which they don't want to do since they like him, he's good defensively, and has a VERY affordable contract until 2011. Remember, part of the reason the Braves have money to spend this offseason is because they found an everyday firstbaseman at a reasonable price. Someone previously mentioned Jermaine Dye, but he's NOT a free agent. The White Sox have indicated he might be available, but he's gonna certainly cost a Hernandez/Flowers/Schaffer type player at least. Oh, and to cut off those that might suggest it, the White Sox are NOT going to be interested in Kelly Johnson. KJ's got some value, but there's a reason other teams have placed a preference on Escobar over KJ....it's the same reason Braves fans prefer to deal KJ over Escobar.

4. Burnett and Lowe: Both are going to provide difficulties since I doubt the Braves are going to be willing to match the Yankees offer to Burnett. Additionally, for those that don't like Ben Sheets because of arm health....AJ Burnett is not exactly a beacon of health either. The Braves got killed this year because of all the "ifs" went the wrong way. The big question going into the season was "IF" the Braves pitchers stay healthy they're going to be tough. That did not work out. Signing Burnett, re-signing Hampton leaves a lot of the same "ifs" about the team. Additionally, if John Smoltz comes back (which I personally believe he will), it is very likely in a bullpen role. I think he's realized that the days of starting are likely behind him if he wants to stay healthy, so he's not going to be an SP option in all likelyhood. That makes Derek Lowe the most consistent, fewest injury questions, and based off the contract the Red Sox are offering, the best overall deal. I think he really needs to beomce a priority for the Braves.

I'm not sure I really provided any good opinions of what the Braves might do, but I do believe several of y'all who are certainly better at generating predictions are starting with a few false premises.

Regards.

The Braves need Peavy and I’m OK with losing Escobar in the process, but a serious concern will be the lack of range on the left side. Esco’s greatest talent may be his fielding range, especially to his right. This, along with his amazing arm, quietly helps compensate for dozens of balls that get past Chipper (Not a knock on Chipper, just a fact that he now has very limited range). Renteria is past his prime defensivly and Furcal has had serious back issues. Great pitching is usually accompanied by stellar defense and the left side of the infield could become a major concern. Factor in Kelly’s mediocre defense and Brian’s limited arm and you start to realize how dire the Braves situation is becoming.
What are outfield options others like? There’s Abreu, Burrell, Dunn, Ibanez and some more I’m probably forgetting. I think the Braves would benefit greatly from having Abreu in the two hole, but I imagine they’d get outbid by the Yankees. I’ve always enjoyed watching Ibanez hit, but he’s around 37 and played his entire career in the AL. No way to Pat Burrell and I’m not crazy about Dunn either!! One issue with Dunn is he’s a lefty. The Braves most consistent hitting comes from the left side and they need some right handed pop to sandwich between Kelly, Chipper, Heaps and Kotchman.

oh, and just to clarify, I know I used the word "likely" about 42,000 times in the sentence relating to Smoltz. That's because you never know for sure what John Smoltz is gonna want to do.

jmooney nobody said that dye was a fa...and why wouldnt they he has a great bat and his true position is ss and the white sox need a shortstop since orlando cabrera left for free agency it makes sense maybe throw in a pitching prospect like parr

White Sox have already announced they're moving Alexi Ramirez to short and they picked up Jayson Nix already this offseason because they like his potential to be a seondbaseman. They're not in the market for a KJ.

cpwilcox, where have you been?! Chipper Jones has rightfully earned Gold gloves the past 3 seasons, but has been jipped because the media favors New York, namely David Wright...who is completely overrated.

And dozens of balls do not get back Chipper. He's one of the best defensive 3rd basemans in the bigs. Ask any expert on baseball...

i would go thru w/ the peavy deal if the padres didnt want half of our farm system, esco, and kj. thats just too freaking much

Furcal will never be worth $39million to Atlanta. Hes too big of a risk (anyone maybe remember two DUI's just while he was in atlanta for a short few years. Plus way to streaky just like every other infielder we pick up in the off season. I think we need to let Yunel grow and go ahead and sign him to a 5 year contract or so for really cheap why we still can get him at that price.... so were not lookin back at him a few years down the road......

First off "Braves Fans" lets work on at least knowing how to spell our players names, both past and present.

Brayan Pena ("A" between "R" and "Y")
Jair Jurrjens (no "G")
Edgar Renteria (no "A" between "R" and "N")

Second, whoever even suggested Sabathia and the Braves is crazy as is the person who suggested we would land Burnett AND Lowe.

Back to reality. In a perfect situation, the Braves would be able to come back to the Padres with a package that substituted Kelly Johnson for Yunel Escobar which would free up 2B for Martin Prado. Once that deal is consummated (which it will in some form), the Braves will most likely be relegated to a second tier free agent pitcher along the lines of John Garland (who I would be happy with). That signing, along with bringing back Mike Hampton on an incentive laden contract would leave the Braves rotation as follows:
Peavy
Jurrjens
Garland
Hampton
Campillo, Reyes/Morton (whoever is left), Hanson

This rotation, factoring in a Hampton stint on the DL at some point, should get us through the midpoint of the season in a position to make a run, a run that will be fueled by the return of Tim Hudson to the rotation and John Smoltz in the bullpen (personal prediction).

The bullpen would then fill out nicely (additional spots would be determined during spring training):
Ohman (offered a preliminary contract)
Moylan
Soriano
Gonzalez
Smoltz

The free agent outfield pool is quite cloudy so I will resist throwing out random names, but a return to form by Frenchy and the settling in of Kotchman should be enough offense (any big bat added would just be an added bonus) to get us into the playoffs where a rotation of Peavy, Hudson and Jurrjens in a short series should be enough to propel us to the NLCS... from there, it's really just a c*** shoot.

themikeag, well aren't you just a special guy. You should go apply for a front office job for the Braves. You seem to know it all.

First of all, the Braves won't have a chance to land Peavy without Escobar in the package somewhere. Trust me.

Your predicted rotation makes a lot of sense. But, don't be surprised if we see a Brad Penny come to Atlanta, along with a Jon Garland.

Now that I'm done with that... I do have a proposition:

Why do we have to limit John Smoltz to a closer role? I'm not saying we're all doing this, but it seems the vast majority wants to see Smoltz return to his dominant closer role. Since we'll more than likely have one pitcher in the rotation that won't be able to get past 5 innings without getting hammered (this is how it's been the past 3-4yrs), why not put Smoltz in a long relief role? When a pitcher is having a bad day, pull Smoltz out to smooth things out and put the cap on it. He's stil too good of a starting pitcher to just throw him in the closer role, especially when we already have Gonzo and Soriano.

If you can remember... before Smoltz got hurt this past season, he was absolutely dominant for at least 6 innings. To be honest, you could make the argument that there was NOT another pitcher in the bigs that was more dominant than Smoltz. He can still eat innings folks. So, if his arm won't allow him to start....use him as a deadly weapon for long relief. He could even close the game off too in the process, if needed.

Just a thought...

themikeag, well aren't you just a special guy. You should go apply for a front office job for the Braves. You seem to know it all.

First of all, the Braves won't have a chance to land Peavy without Escobar in the package somewhere. Trust me.

Your predicted rotation makes a lot of sense. But, don't be surprised if we see a Brad Penny come to Atlanta, along with a Jon Garland.

Now that I'm done with that... I do have a proposition:

Why do we have to limit John Smoltz to a closer role? I'm not saying we're all doing this, but it seems the vast majority wants to see Smoltz return to his dominant closer role. Since we'll more than likely have one pitcher in the rotation that won't be able to get past 5 innings without getting hammered (this is how it's been the past 3-4yrs), why not put Smoltz in a long relief role? When a pitcher is having a bad day, pull Smoltz out to smooth things out and put the cap on it. He's stil too good of a starting pitcher to just throw him in the closer role, especially when we already have Gonzo and Soriano.

If you can remember... before Smoltz got hurt this past season, he was absolutely dominant for at least 6 innings. To be honest, you could make the argument that there was NOT another pitcher in the bigs that was more dominant than Smoltz. He can still eat innings folks. So, if his arm won't allow him to start....use him as a deadly weapon for long relief. He could even close the game off too in the process, if needed.

Just a thought...

why would u name your self TRADECHIPPER ? what the fck would u do that for idiot ? he has been the best player for the Braves for along time and look at last year u dumb ******.had a batting average of .364 and u name your self trade chipper ? lmao dude get a real name .thats just a sick name to have